Itadaki Smash (2021)

Itadaki Smash isn't exactly the worst beat-'em-up on the Switch, but it gets close. The graphics are drab, with some bad-looking character models and mediocre animations. The humor is tiresome, and the lack of moves reveals the game's shallowness. The game is short, but the cumbersome saving combined with the overall instability makes it difficult to like. The Switch has a plethora of very good beat-'em-ups, both old and new, so there's no need to check out this offering.

It follows the regular conventions that we expect to see and does good when it comes to its character cast, with a reasonable assortment of moves, game modes that propose different rules and a good touch of humour. However those looking for a more in-depth experience might not find it in Itadaki Smash's simplistic development, and the way the hit box is implemented might leave more seasoned players to raise their eyebrows at what's on offer.

Itadaki Smash has some decent humour in places and can give you a few hours of slightly underwhelming fighting fun. But with so much better available out there, we would suggest looking elsewhere to get your belt scroller fix.

The core gameplay and design of Itadaki Smash make for a zippy beat 'em up, but the lack of extra servings may leave you wanting a bit more.

Itadaki Smash is a modest beat 'em up that pays homage to arcade and is fun, despite its brevity and little variety. It does not bring new playable ideas of its own to the genre, but it does attract attention for the design of its enemies, as if they were Japanese food dishes.